The Rose Garden of The White House is seen from the Colonnade Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo)
President Donald Trump is set to host a high-profile dinner at the White House on Thursday evening. The guest list features some of the most powerful names in technology and artificial intelligence.
The gathering will take place in the Rose Garden, recently redesigned into a patio-style setting with tables and umbrellas, similar to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Musk Missing from the Guest List
Executives invited include Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Also expected are Google’s Sundar Pichai, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Oracle’s Safra Catz, and OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Greg Brockman.
But Elon Musk, once considered a Trump ally, will not attend. The Tesla and SpaceX chief had a public fallout with the president earlier this year. Their break came after Trump revoked the NASA nomination of Musk’s associate Jared Isaacman. Trump later dismissed Isaacman as “totally a Democrat,” fueling tensions between the two men.
A Spokesman Calls It “The Hottest Place”
The White House has framed the dinner as a chance to strengthen ties with industry leaders.
“The Rose Garden Club at the White House is the hottest place to be in Washington, or perhaps the world,” spokesman Davis Ingle said. “The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political, and tech leaders for this dinner and many more to come.”
AI Education in Focus
The dinner will follow a meeting of the newly launched Artificial Intelligence Education Task Force. First Lady Melania Trump will chair the initiative, aimed at helping American youth learn AI skills.
Officials said several dinner guests will also join the task force discussions earlier in the day. The program is designed to prepare students for a future where AI will play a key role in the economy.
A Powerful Guest Lined Up
Along with Cook, Gates, and Zuckerberg, the guest list includes Google cofounder Sergey Brin, Blue Origin CEO David Limp, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, Palantir executive Shyam Sankar, Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang, and TIBCO chairman Vivek Ranadive.
Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman, once linked closely to Musk, is also expected. His earlier NASA nomination, later withdrawn by Trump, remains a source of friction between Musk and the president.
Politics Behind the White House Dinner
Though billed as a social evening, the event has clear political undertones. It positions Trump at the center of the ongoing AI conversation while signaling his continued influence with America’s top tech companies.
The Hill first reported news of the dinner on Wednesday. With its mix of industry titans, political figures, and strategic timing, the event is already being described as one of the most significant tech gatherings in Washington this year.
